Mankind Is Mesmerized By Millennia Of Moon Mysteries
Over millennia humankind has been mesmerized by the moon, speculating as to what exactly the moon is and only in early-2022 a team of astronomers suggest the moon may have “formed immediately, in a matter of hours, when material from the Earth and Theia was launched directly into orbit after the impact,” as published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The researchers explained that “billions of years ago, a version of our Earth that looks very different than the one we live on today, was hit by an object about the size of Mars, called Theia -- and out of that collision the Moon was formed.” Echoing the findings of early astronomer priests, Professor Vincent Eke, co-author on the paper from Durham University reports: "The more we learn about how the Moon came to be, the more we discover about the evolution of our own Earth…Their histories are intertwined.”
Attic Kylix with Selene and her horses, circa 490 BC, by the Brygos Painter ( Sailko/ CC BY-SA 3.0)
From the earliest times the moon has served hunters, fisher folk and farmers as both a reliable astronomical time piece and as a myth generator. The moon has been interpreted as both a god and a goddess. The Biblical book of Numbers describe a man carrying a load of sticks around the globe and a range of animals including rabbits, frogs and toads have all been associated with the moon, not to mention elk, horned bears and bat-like winged humanoids. Modern man speaks of a ‘man in the moon’.
Screenshot from Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) (1902) (Public Domain)
Modern Moon Madness
The moon has mystified scientists as late as the 19th century. On August 21, 1835, The New York Sun published a series of six articles allegedly written by Dr Andrew Grant in which he claimed Sir John Frederick William Herschel, the English polymath, mathematician, astronomer, chemist and inventor used hydro-oxygen magnifiers to prove that life existed on the moon. The world stood still as the story spread across the globe claiming the famous astronomer, Herschel, described nine species of mammals living on the surface of the moon. No holes were barred in this wonderful tale and the narrative introduced lunar-dwelling “tailless beavers, rein-deer, elk, moose, horned bear and the biped beaver.” Furthermore, the giant of science allegedly also described five ovipara (animals that lay eggs) all inhabiting the lunar skin.
Lithograph of the "ruby amphitheater" described in The Sun newspaper on August 28, 1835 (Public Domain)
The six fabulous articles described a landscape similar to earth with lush tree-lined beaches, lagoons and forests and if the creatures so far listed were not enough of an indulgence in the imagination the article also reported “bat-like winged humanoids (Vespertilio-homo) built stone temples.” Known as the ‘Great Moon Hoax of 1835’ it was a week later on August 27, 1835, that The Sun admitted the entire story was a hoax designed to attract new subscribers to their newspaper, and that the writer Dr Andrew Grant was a fictional character. The real author of the six articles, Richard Adams Locke, then publicly admitted to the hoax in an 1840 New World article.
